VOLKSWAGEN GOLF R

Golf R brings full-fat power and a gamut of new tricks

- CURT DUPRIEZ

DRIFT MODE. IT'S a headline feature that, beyond any other, suggests that Volkswagen's latest Mark 8 hatch is the Golf R icon so many Aussies love, if not as they know it. That and the fact that, roughly, the new hot hatch poster child is $10k pricier than the outgoing Mk7.5.

For what's the thick end of a 20 per cent higher outlay, the clear expectation is that Mk8 Golf R ought to be better, hotter and somewhat different than its forebear. And presumably without losing the maturity and all-round goodness that underpins its everlasting popularity and cult following in Australia.

The Golf R's timing is impeccable, lobbing in a moment where its main competition is either getting on (Hyundai i30 N, Renault Megane RS), between generations (Honda Civic Type R), yet to surface (Toyota Corolla GR) or shuffling off to extinction (Ford Focus RS and Subaru STI). Fit and present, though, is the Vee-Dub's freshly baked Audi S3 Sportback cousin.

Finding oneself on a lean battlefield is no excuse for phoning the hot hatch experience in, but it does mean Volkswagen Australia has a hand in what you get for the sort of coin it asks for. Pricing is $65,990 list. Want a six-speed manual like North America? Tough. But local spec is generous and our Golf R arrives standard with the Performance Pack other markets charge extra for.

More importantly, the Golf R isn't short-changed on outputs. This Evo4 iteration of the EA888 - new block, revised head and injection - outputs the same 235kW and 400Nm offered globally (and is seven kilowatts up on the new S3).

That's identical to the new Tiguan R, if 20Nm shy of the Golf R Wagon, all launched recently, though the hatch is, with its 4.8 seconds for the 0-100km/h sprint, the swifter by one- and three-tenths respectively. The only transmission offered is an R-specific wet-type dual-clutch seven-speed with launch control.